Xodus Ultra 3

Bought 2 pairs of Xodus Ultra (ver 1) from Flipkart 2 years ago. Still going strong. Also there used to be a Saucony showroom on F C road near hotel Lalit Mahal - though not sure if it's still there.

I personally prefer Xodus. It has Saucony's racing foam that's surrounded by a firmer foam. People have completed UTMB wearing that shoe so should be OK for Sahyadri trails. Fujispeed is good as well, but since it's plated, it's a little aggressive. It's designed for speed - it's even in the name. It's less than ideal for casual use. Depends entirely on your use case.

I’m hoping to get some suggestions from other runners with wider feet. I absolutely loved the original Saucony Xodus Ultras, but I’ve finally run through my stockpile and need to find a new go-to trail shoe.  About me: I’m a heavier runner (200lbs) with wider feet, so I need a good toe box and enough room in the midfoot (too snug and I end up with pain after longer runs.)  Here’s what I’ve tried recently: * Altra Experience Wild - Good fit, enjoying these so far. * Topo Ultraventure 4 - Also a solid fit, no complaints. * Topo MNT Racer 3 - Too narrow in the midfoot, caused discomfort after a 10-miler. * Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 - Unfortunately too narrow overall for me. * Peregrine 12's (wide) - Good for technical routes and quicker paces.  I’m open to rotating a few models for different distances and terrain. I’m curious about the following shoes but am open to other suggestions. Not a big fan of zero drops. Have caused calf issues in the past. * Brooks Catamount / Caldera / Cascadia * North Face Altamesa 500 * Norda 001 * NNormal Tomir 2.0  Would love to hear from anyone with similar need, especially if you’ve found a solid Xodus Ultra alternative that works for wider feet. Bonus points for shoes that can handle longer miles or varied terrain.

Just my preference but the Ultra 3 had more stack height and is heavier, more than I wanted/needed. The Ultra 2 was my sweet spot and I would have been a repeat customer if Saucony kept the stack the same but got a more durable upper and maybe shaved some weight.

Drop and stack height can depend on user preferences and training to a big extent. Shoe traction, trail surface, and how you run and place your feet also matter. I've run in 0mm to 8mm drop shoes over the years, all are fine for me. On some rocky/technical trails, I've actually been faster and more confident in Speedgoats (4mm) or the Saucony Xodus Ultra (6mm), both high stack shoes because I could stomp on whatever sharp rocks without concern vs lower stack shoes with more ground feel where eventually I'd be picking my way through sharp objects because of the repeated impacts. On the flip side, I'm slower with high stack shoes when going downhill on loose surfaces and making a lot of sharp turns. "Ideal" is kind of hard to think about for me. Generally? Specifically on certain surfaces or races or trails? It's all tradeoffs, you might be slower on the technicals but faster everywhere else in mid/high stack mid drop shoes. How much technical stuff are we talking here?

I have ~100 miles in the Tomir 2 and ran extensively in the Endorphin Edge, Peregrine, Xodus Ultra, and Speedgoat. For me, the Tomir 2.0 is most like the Peregrine but with better traction. I wouldn't use the Peregrine in anything over a marathon and ditto with the Tomir 2.0. The main selling point of the Tomir 2 to me is better traction and overall shoe life (remains to be seen) since my Peregrines were done after 270 miles on my usual rocky trails. Of these, I like the Endorphin Edge the most and used it for my recent races and long runs. Outsole life and traction need improvement though, I've straight up lost chunks of outsole.

I have >200 miles in my Nnormal Tomir 2s, spanning short steep runs to 20 mile runs with >5,000 feet of climbing at altitude. Previously ran in Saucony Xodus Ultra, Endorphin Edge, and Endorphin (g)rift. Traction and durability on the Tomir 2 are great. They are on the firm side, even with the mileage I put on them so far, and lean on fast feeling given my previous shoes. I would want more underfoot cushioning for anything beyond a marathon or 50K. To me, these are medium generalist leaning shoes, great for racking up miles and training. Fit was a touch too narrow at first, I have wide feet. Took around 50 miles for the insole to pack down and the upper to stretch and flex a bit. Fits comfortably snug now. For the long stuff I am using the Mount to Coast T1. Comfortable fit for my toes, good underfoot cushioning, yet light and fast enough that I don't feel like I'm working too hard when running uphill or picking up the pace. I have ~80 miles on them so far, really just a few long runs, they're great. Durability looks good but need to take them out to at least 200 to say more. If these still look good after 300 miles I would switch completely to them and not get another pair of the Tomir 2s.

There are LOTS of shoes that could fill this need, but I'd personally go with something with deeper (4+mm) lugs that can handle mud, even if it's a mix of surfaces. Right now, I'm using my (almost ready to retire) Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 (not the new 4) to plug away on road to trail, it handles most things just fine, and the grip is good enough and it's VERY comfortable. If you want extra grip, that Agravic 3 is a good option, just know that Lighstrike is just EVA, and it is not very exciting. Other good commuter options are the Brooks Catamount 3-4, and the Hierro v8 - v9. Have fun deciding.

Did my local this morning which was half tarmac, half The Somme. Did it in a pair of Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 which I got cheap in the John Lewis sale. They were decent, especially for a plodder like me. Did I get a PB? Did I heck as like. Did they keep me upright and not running like a Loony Tunes character? They did.

I am running in xodus ultra 3s (mostly) right now. They’re comfortable enough but don’t exactly make you feel like you’re getting anywhere fast. Nnormal Tomir 2.0 are probably my favorite shoes, but the toebox is a bit too narrow for me and I was getting blisters on my toes. I still wear them for runs lads than 18k-ish.

I went from speedgoats to xodus ultra 3 and prefer them, though I do feel like they are far more of a stability shoe than the sg6 are.

Looks like v4 is heavier than v3. But with Vibran rubber instead of Sacuony, that may explain it qd well as a beefed up upper. I just ordered a pair of xodus 3 for the Grand Mesa 50 in a couple weeks. I haven't run in saucony since the Peregrin, 10 years ago. I chose them over the Mafate 4 but before I just learned Rabbit just dropped their first trail shoe this month and it looks like a monster!

My wife has bunions and has found the Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 to be a fantastic choice. I also have wide feet, and am in love with my Xodus Ultra shoes.

I don't have feedback about that specific shoe, but I have wide lady feet and absolutely love the xodus ultra 3 and 4 (I have both lol).

Super helpful to hear that. I’d lost so much of the lugs on my ExUltras that I finally broke down and bought the ExUltra 3 in May. They weren’t terrible, but one of my biggest complaints was that compared to the original, they just felt dead—very little rebound. I was afraid that the extra weight would diminish the rebound in the 4s. The 3s also felt a little narrow in the toebox. Not ASICS narrow, but definitely not roomy, and maybe a little narrower than the typical Saucony last. Would you say these have a similar toebox to other Sauconys?

I’m not a distance runner, but I do a lot of hiking and some trail running in Saucony’s Xodus Ultras. I love them, MUCH more than the Peregrins which feel slow and unresponsive by comparison. The one problem, as I see it, is that the outsole while grippy on dirt and dry rock has less than ideal traction on wet rock and the lugs wear down very, very quickly. BUT, Saucony is switching to a vibram outsole in the new model Xodus Ultra that they release on June 1. Check that out.